Mine
by LightningMistress2113
Summary: She was his and he's waited fourteen years to claim her. Now it was time to brand her, show her who she belonged to mind, body and soul.


I'm a very bad girl I know. Please excuse me for not updating my other stories in an _extremely_ long time. They will eventually get the next chapter…before a year or two passes hopefully.

This idea, along with another one, just wouldn't leave me alone and let me sleep at night. And so here's the result. However, whether this one continues or not will depend on you readers and your responses. If it's good enough to go on please tell me. Otherwise…it'll just stay as a one-shot.

Disclaimer - I do not own the greatness called Inuyasha. If I did...Inuyasha would've been knocked over the head a few times for being too stubborn.

**_Mine_** – She was his and he's waited fourteen years to claim her. Now it was time to brand her, show her who she belonged to mind, body and soul.

…

Tiredly running a hand through her raven locks, Kagome glared at the overly cocky boy before her. Cobalt eyes showed no emotion even though a smirk twisted his lips. She wanted to throttle Kouga so badly it was becoming an itch. He had just brazenly declared she was his woman, had always been his woman, and always would be his woman in front of the entire freaking class. All the girls were glaring at her with thinly veiled hate and jealously, most of the boys slack jawed while others were copying the jealous hateful glares of the females.

Kagome wished the ground would open up and shallow her.

"Kouga," she started patiently, fingers curling into a fist, "For the last time. _I am not your woman." _She hissed the last five words, a vein noticeably twitching on her forehead. Kouga's smirk widened and he casually draped an unwanted arm around her shoulders. Kagome clamped her teeth together to distract the rather appealing urge to drop kick the infuriating man to next century.

"But Kagome," he lowered his voice while taking a step closer to her slightly quivering body. "I'm only telling the truth here." Several snickers followed his statement. Kagome closed her chocolate eyes, praying for the non-existent patience to deal with her friend. She questioned, not for the first time, why she even tried to stay friends with the obnoxious man.

Breathing deep once, the young woman slid out from underneath his arm, turning around to face him at a respectful distance between their bodies. The quivering settled down to her hands, anger rearing its ugly head more than ever. This…issue needed to be dealt with once and for all.

She was not some possession.

Kagome could practically feel the heated stares on her back from the audience. "Why won't you get it through your freaking skull that I will _not_ date you!" Her voice was low from the passionate sentence. The cocky smirk didn't waver, having never once slipped off his tanned face. Usually their argument over whether or not she would court him ended with her storming off and him chuckling at her obvious anger. This time, something else briefly flashed through his blue eyes.

The abominable smirk finally tilted downward, eyes slightly narrowing as he inched a step closer. His expression turned stony, making Kagome suddenly wary of her friend. One of his hands reached up to tightly grip her forearm. She knew the situation had just turned south and her breathing sped up from the sinking realization. Something had changed in Kouga – maybe he was finally tired of her rejecting him for the past three years.

Or maybe he was finally showing his true colors.

The loud shrill ringing of the school bell rattled in her ears. The students within the classroom immediately packed up their things and rushed out of the room to head home. Kagome let out a shaky breath when Kouga's hand dropped and he stepped back. Her heart hammered in her chest; that had been scary. Kouga gave her an emotionless look promising that the previous conversation wasn't over yet then whirled around to follow the flow of students.

It took her a full two minutes before she could shrug off the past ten minutes and return to her desk to get her schoolbag. A long sigh escaped her lips as she trudged out into the crowded hallway, mind replying the earlier events, her heart constricting.

Why couldn't Kouga let her go? They had been friends for all of middle school and now most of high school. He was one of her very first friends along with Sango and Miroku. Their group had enlarged to include three others about three years ago but the original four had remained very close nit. She missed the days where she could laugh freely together with Sango and joke with Kouga about how Miroku would never be cured of being a pervert and that he should stop taking lessons while he was ahead. Their friendship was as dear to her as her own family. In some ways, she did think of Kouga and Miroku as older brothers – there were only a couple of months between her birthday and Miroku's – while Sango was a sister.

She frowned, suddenly remembering things had changed one day back before high school had started. Miroku had asked Sango out during the summer vacation – no surprise there since he had never _stopped_ since meeting her – but what was the biggest shocker was that she had actually accepted – for once. It had always been obvious the tall dark haired girl had strong feelings for the incurable pervert yet she had always rejected his advances, usually giving the violet eyed man a good hard slap for touching her rear. Why she had finally said yes remained a mystery. She eventually whispered the reason to Kagome after months of persistent pestering, fervently making Kagome promise to never utter it to anyone else on pain of death (that still made Kagome giggle at the ridiculous notion of Sango ever harming _her_).

But after that, Kagome and Kouga were basically left on their own. Sango and Miroku spent the majority of their time together, on dates or just hanging out, and the other two felt left out. The four of them had always done mostly everything together once becoming best friends. Now that group had been split – and now Kagome suspected that was the reason why Kouga was hitting so hard on her. Either he'd had feelings for her all along or he was just feeling a little lost without the lovebirds.

The latter made Kagome smile sadly. She had felt the same way afterwards…then a cute guy named Hojo began chasing her halfway through her first year of high school. Kouga had stepped up his flirting a notch, probably trying to win a race against Hojo. Both men drove her nuts with their constant nagging.

"Yo, Kagome!" The pleasant voice of Miroku's voice snapped her out of memory lane. A big grin broke out on her face upon spotting him and Sango at the school gate, momentarily confused as to why they were there. Miroku had an arm securely around Sango's waist, Sango's fingers twitching as if ready to slap his hand if it ever got anywhere near her scrumptious bottom (Miroku's words, not hers).

"Sango! Miroku!" Kagome waved at her friends, speeding up her pace to reach them. The rest of the students had already cleared out of school, making it easier for them to leisurely walk home. She noticed Kouga wasn't with them and bit her bottom lip in worry. Was he still angry over their argument earlier? More often than not, the cobalt eyed man would shallow his pride and overly inflated ego and still keep to the tradition of walking home with everyone after school.

The two waiting for her started down the sidewalk once Kagome caught up with them. Normal exchanges of how their school day went proceeded for most of the journey as per usual, albeit for a few times Sango harshly pinched Miroku's arm whenever he began going off on how beautiful his dear Sango was, or how he loved her only and only wanted her to bare his children – he had always had this sort of fascination with women baring his children. Both Kagome and Sango never bothered to figure out why or question him on it.

The answer would probably only make them roll their eyes in disgust.

"Hey, where's Kouga?" Miroku asked unexpectedly while tenderly rubbing a painfully throbbing spot on his side (Sango finally decided to try a different area after his particularly embarrassing speech on how perfect Sango's body was). Sango didn't miss the way Kagome tensed at their other friend's name.

"I don't know," Kagome supplied when Sango stayed silent. "I saw him in math and that was it." It was one of three classes she shared with Kouga. It was also one of three classes she shared with a close friend at all.

Miroku opened his mouth to further question Kagome but snapped it shut when Sango gently nudged him while shaking her head before gesturing at Kagome. She was walking with her eyes downcast, feet seemingly dragging across the pavement, white teeth biting her bottom lip. Miroku cocked his dark head at his girlfriend, silently sending a question, to which she mouthed a later. Satisfied, he cheerily started on another, less disturbing for Kagome, subject. Sango squeezed his hand in appreciation, aiming a warm smile at him.

The buried worry within Kagome steadfastly gripped her heart. She fiercely hoped she hadn't destroyed her friendship with Kouga over such a petty thing in her mind. Her friends meant the world to her and she would be devastated to lose any of them. Though, she wondered if they even knew that.

By the time the little group of three reached the steps leading up to Kagome's home in a shrine, Miroku had fallen quiet, Sango eyeing Kagome worriedly while Kagome stayed in low spirits. It wasn't until she literally ran into Miroku that her head finally lifted and she saw where they were. Her chocolate eyes widened, guilt washing through her. She hadn't meant to be gloomy for the whole trip; this was basically the only long period of time she ever got with all of her friends.

Mumbling a quick apology for her unexplainable behavior, she hurriedly started ascending the million steps to the shrine. Sango shared a look with her boyfriend, raising a dark eyebrow at how Kagome had made a quick escape. Miroku shrugged then gently urged her toward their next destination – his house. Which just so happened to be right next to hers.

She could never get away from that man.

Laughing at the thought, Sango allowed him to lead her past the steps, worry for her sister like friend reseeding a tiny bit. She resolved she could always corner Kagome later and demand answers.

Besides, if she couldn't get Kagome to talk...

Who could?

….

Kagome slammed the door to her bedroom shut, chest heaving as she leaned back against it. She had ignored all the concerned questions her family had bombarded her with once stepping through the entryway in favor of all but bolting to her room while silently cursing her family's ability to usually know when she was feeling low under her breath. After resisting the strong urge to lock the door, she spotted her open window and frantically closed and locked it. Her fast breathing eased somewhat with that small measure of security, weary body sinking down unto her made bed.

It had come again.

The hair rising feeling of someone watching her, blatantly staring at her, had seized her on the way up to the shrine. Fear pounded inside her veins and all she could think about was running for the safety of her home. There, whatever was looking at her couldn't get through the protection barrier placed around the edges of the house. She was safe…for now at least.

Several minutes of her breathing deep past before a timid knock came at her door. She groaned, knowing she owed her family a reason but dreading to lie once again. She hadn't told anyone about the weird feeling. When it hadn't come for a few days, luring her into a false sense of security, she had totally and completely forgotten about it. Even the burned image of twin pools of molten gold had faded for a brief time.

She shuddered at the clear memory from that fearful day. Of all the memories she could forget throughout her lifespan, that was the one she most wanted gone forever.

_Kagome giggled happily as she ran outside, her four year old mind focused on one thing. Her mother was finally coming home with her younger brother and the little girl couldn't wait to see him again. Her grandfather grunted on his way while following after her, old eyes watching his granddaughter protectively. The sun was shining brightly that day, a warm wind rustling between the trees in the forest surrounding the small shrine._

_The tiny child stopped halfway to the shrine steps, looking back at her grandfather in complete glee, little hands clasped before her. Her long raven locks moved in the breeze and she impatiently pushed some strands out of her dancing chocolate eyes. When her grandfather finally reached her, Kagome merrily skipped in a circle, hardly able to contain her excitement._

_Her body suddenly froze for a second when something akin to cold fingers squeezed her heart. She quietly gasped in surprise, fear pouring thick in her veins, the weird feeling of being watched prevailing over all other senses. Her grandfather didn't notice the tiny child's unexpected halt, eyes now looking at the steps leading down from the shrine._

_Kagome managed quick, uneven breaths, eyes big and wide, body beginning to tremble. The cold fingers around her heart gripped tighter with each passing second. Her vocal chords disobeyed her and refused to work properly so she couldn't call out for any help at all. Little fingers desperately bunching in her light sundress, she raised her frightened gaze to the trees around the shrine, half hoping to find the cause of why she was so terrified. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up; there was something within that forest, she just knew it. Butterflies crowded the space inside her stomach, the fear still coursing in her veins, tears starting to slip down her pale cheeks. All she wanted at the moment was her mother's arms. Her mother would be able to soothe away all the dreadful feelings._

_A loud gasp left her parted mouth, eyes blinking rapidly. It was only for a second but she had glimpsed something in the darkness between the tree trunks. She idly realized her grandfather was worriedly shaking her small frame, apparently finally noticing her condition. No words, no other sounds, would come out. Her body was like a statue and her young mind was on overdrive._

_Then a low sound traveled to her ears._

_A sound that she thought somehow fitted with the two gold spots she had sighted earlier._

_A sound that chilled her small body to the bone._

_A sound she knew she would never, ever forget._

_A sound that would forever haunt her dreams at night._

_A sound she inexplicitly wanted to hear again._

_Kagome fainted from the prolonged exposure of hard fear, her grandfather's worried voice frantically calling her name the last thing she heard. The blackness of unconsciousness was dotted with gold and the low sound that had been the last straw still ringed in her ears._

_It had been the low rumble of a dark purr._

….

He grinned as his female dragged herself off her bed, hesitantly going to the bedroom door. Her window was shut and his sensitive ears had picked up the sound of a lock clicking. His grin grew wider at what it had signified.

So she was being careful now, huh?

He knew she could feel whenever he watched her. It gave his inner demon quite a bit of mirth over the fact she foolishly thought she could ever hide from him. There was nowhere she could run to that he wouldn't be able to find her. After all, her delicious scent was forever imprinted upon his memory.

_"__It's time."_ His inner demon purred. He nodded in agreement at the sentiment, sharp claws digging into the rough tree bark beneath him in anticipation.

After waiting fourteen long years, it was finally time to claim her.

A glint entered his golden eyes, heart racing in his chest. The thrill of the very special hunt looming closer almost made him drool.

Oh, he couldn't wait.

….

If I do continue this, there won't be a set update schedule. Stupid work keeps switching my shift times on me.

Lightning Mistress


End file.
